New Developments From BMW

The BMW X6 is something new to the BMW range. It is very unique in its design and you can call it a hybrid not in engine terms but in style. They have placed a BMW 6 series body onto an X5 chassis to come out with a meaty sleek style SUV coupe. It is a bit shorter than the X5 SUV but is a little bit wider and lower. This gives it a certain poise and aggressiveness that the X5 can’t pull off.

The new car comes complete with BMW’s new efficient dynamics system that improves the cars emissions and driving experience. All BMW’s range including, the X6, come with the option of efficient dynamics that help with the overall driving experience of the car. These features include using lightweight materials in the engine compartment and low friction fluids within the engine structure including the oil. Others include low resistance tyres that have less friction than standard tyres and brake energy regeneration which allows some of the energy used to brake the car to be regenerated and used again, allowing the car to be kinder to the environment and use less kinetic energy.

Another clever feature of the system is the auto start stop. This is where as you slow down to a stop and slip the car out of gear the engine will stop momentarily until you put the car back in gear and engage the clutch. This is a very clever system that allows your carbon emission to reach zero when you are stopped in a traffic jam or at a roundabout. The last feature included is the optimum gear select. This is where an onboard computer will flash up the correct gear for you to be in, in order for you to lower your carbon emissions and stay economical. This means you are using less fuel by being in the wrong gear and using more torque for example.

With the new BMW X6 the efficient dynamics system is very important as the top of the range model comes with a V8 twin turbo which, in history, is not the most economical engine on sale. But BMW’s boffins have been able to extract every last hp advantage but keep the emissions at their lowest and save as much energy as possible. The V8 puts out 407hp and 600nm of torque which is enough to send the car to a 0 – 60 time of just 5.4 seconds. This is only 0.4 of a second slower than a Maserati quatraporte for example. This is very impressive as the car is not very light and is quite large compared to other cars in the same bracket.

This moves us onto the rivals that BMW face. Possible rivals mainly come from its German counterparts including Mercedes and Porsche. Mercedes have the Ml class cars that are similar in size and have relative power but the road handling is nothing like the BMW. Because the Mercedes Ml is a proper SUV the suspension and chassis are softer than the X6 meaning that is does not hold the road as well. Porsche on the other hand have created the Cayenne which is a bold off roader that comes with huge power and road handling thanks to their racing experience with sports and super cars. But its looks are much worse than the X6’s which means that overall the X6 is for the meantime best in its class.